A wireless device attempting to establish communication with a wireless communication network can send a request for a communication channel to an access node. The access node typically uses a procedure to allocate wireless link resources to the requesting wireless device, such as a random access procedure, which allocates wireless link resources on a request or need basis rather than establishing dedicated wireless link resources for the wireless device. A random access procedure can be used in a variety of circumstances, such as when a wireless device initiates communication when it comes out of a lower power or idle state, when a wireless device is attempting to re-establish a lost or temporarily dropped connection, when the wireless device is handed over to a second access node, or when data is available to be transferred between the access node and the wireless device.